Naruto: Between Two Worlds
by Captain Lycan
Summary: A seven year-old Uzumaki Naruto is kidnapped by Sinister; an experience that intertwines his life with that of the X-men who save him and connects the hidden world of the Shinobi to the volatile world of mutants and superhumans. Mokuton! Naruto  CANCELED
1. Prologue

**Naruto: Between Two Worlds**

**Plot: **A seven year-old Uzumaki Naruto is kidnapped by Sinister; an experience that intertwines his life with that of the X-men who save him and connects the hidden world of the Shinobi to the volatile world of mutants and superhumans. Mokuton! Naruto

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Prologue**

The child was sitting in the corner of his cell; he didn't know how long he had been there. There were no windows in the building; the electrical lighting was kept to a minimum. The boy suspected it was because the monster liked the dark. The monster stood in front of his cell looking at him with cold, blood red eyes. He was speaking to someone in the shadows. The child couldn't understand what they were saying but he was certain they we're talking about him. The monster turned around, his long black cape fluttered behind him.

"The child did indeed possess the mutation you described in a dormant state. It never would have awakened if not for my experimentations." The vampiric-looking scientist handed the shadowy figure a vial, "The sample as promised." The figure in the shadows took it and then spoke his tone was low and calculating,

"Thank you Sinister, by all accounts your reputation is well earned. I have samples of the First's DNA but degraded materiel is rather hard to work with" The maniacal mutant nodded sympathetically; "If he now has the first's ability he could be more useful to my plans then I thought. I will have one of my subordinates' take the child tomorrow. The Third is sending out ANBU units to reclaim him." Sinister raised an ebony eyebrow,

"From my scans of the boy's memories I did not think he would be missed." His voice held a touch of humor to it, while the other person present became very silent. It would appear his co-conspirator was concerned about something, "Perhaps their interest isn't the boy himself but what lies within that spurs him into action. I confess I'm more than a little interested myself. It's not the first time I've encountered such an entity, but I've never felt such… pure malice in all my life." Sinister made no attempt to contain the awe in his voice. The demeanor of his ally seemed to darken,

"You are prying into affairs that do not concern you." The tone was polite enough that most people would've missed the edge it held, "I was hoping this would be the beginning of profitable partnership and I am far from unreasonable but if you refuse to hand him over the consequences would be…very unpleasant." Sinister bristled at the threat but savored the thought of having more test subjects to work with. The brat alone had yielded a treasure trove of genetic information, almost worth the trouble of keeping him locked up. The little brat bit and scratched like an animal and tried to make a run for it at every opportunity. None the less there was still so much he could learn from the boy.

"Allow me at least another day to extract more genetic material before handing him over to your men. Is there time for that?" The figure remained silent for a moment,

"Very well, remember I do not handle betrayal well." He warned Sinister who simply nodded indulgently. He was the man who had betrayed Apocalypse and lived, ninja simply didn't compare. The two walked off leaving the boy alone in his cell. Once they were out of sight the tears began flowing down his dirty face, one question burned in the child's mind over and over again:

"(Why?)" His voice cracked, why did the bad people take from his home? Why did the monster with the cape hurt him? Why hadn't anyone come to save him? He sobbed when he realized he knew the answer that one at least: no one cared. Once a boy had gone missing in the forest and everyone in village pitched in to look until the boy was found. But nobody would care that he was gone, a lot of the people would probably be happy, _"If anyone else had been taken by monsters they would save them." _He thought bitterly as more sobs escaped. The boy looked up at the ceiling with his cobalt blue eyes.

He didn't know what to do, no one had ever taught him how to pray and he couldn't wish on stars if he couldn't see them so all he could do was cry, "(Please)," he sobbed quietly, "(somebody he-elp meee)!" from there the words became more incoherent. He didn't want to be in the dark, cold cell any more, he didn't want people to hurt him anymore, and he didn't want to be alone any more. The boy hugged his knees and cried himself to sleep.

…

**The Next Day…**

The lab had been thoroughly trashed in the battle, a short, feral looking man in a yellow and blue sleeveless uniform surveyed the scene, "So any idea why Sinister set up shop in the Land o' the Rising Sun?" Wolverine asked while inspecting a fried motherboard. The Marauders, a group of mutant thugs in Sinister's service had been more interested in trashing the lab and high-tailing it out of there with their boss.

Standing a couple of feet away was a man who wore a dark blue body suite and a silver visor. He glanced at Wolverine and replied "Who knows how that lunatic thinks." Cyclops then touched the red and gold emblem on his uniform, "Hey Gambit did you find anything?" The X-Men leader asked through the comlink,

"Some more lab equipment and some blood samples from da looks of it." The Cajun cardshark answered, his tone was lacking its usual devil may care tone. Not surprising given Gambit's past with Sinister, he knew better than anyone how he "acquired" samples like that, "Rogue's checking out the lower level."

"All by herself?" Scott snapped, "You two were ordered to stick together!"

"My lady knows how to handle herself jus' fine." He said with pride, Cyclops rolled his eyes,

"Just keep an ear open for her Gumbo." Wolverine interjected,

Rogue walked down the dimly lit corridor having to make sure not to trip over the rubble, apparently the battle had taken a toll on the structural integrity of the building. She was a tall woman with curly mane of auburn hair with snow white bangs. She wore a brown jacket over her yellow and green uniform. At the end of the corridor was a single holding cell, from the looks of it the ceiling in the cell had collapsed. Rogue's emerald eyes widened when she heard someone whimpering in pain, it sounded for all the world like a… "Oh Lord please no," She hit the com button on her belt, "Rogue to X-Men, I think I found a prisoner."

"Alright we're on our way." Cyclops replied while Rogue literally flew down the rest corridor stopping just in front of the cell. What she saw was a heartbreaking sight that confirmed her worst: a frightened child with his right leg trapped under some rubble,

"Oh God he's only a little boy." From his pale complexion and emaciated figure he had been in Sinister's clutches for some time. His sapphire eyes looked at her in fear and his blonde hair was dirty and matted. The boy's clothes nothing more than rags; she see could numerous bruises on the boy's arms. Anger boiled up inside of her, if Sinister were here right now she'd beat the monster till he was a stain on the ground. She quickly shook her head, helping the child came first.

The boy's sapphire eyes widened as the flying woman ripped the door off its hinges. He tried to move but his leg was still stuck. She needed to keep him calm before she tried to move the rubble, "It's gonna be okay little guy." She said putting as much warmth and assurance as possible in her voice in case he didn't understand her. She knelt beside reached out with a gloved hand to comfort him but stopped when the boy flinched in fear, "I'm not gonna hurt you." She kept her tone soothing and got down her knees, "I'm Rogue, what's your name handsome?" She said sweetly, the child's expression went from fear to confusion and then asked something in Japanese, _"Ah crud he doesn't understand English." _She pointed at herself, "Rogue." The boy seemed to understand,

"N-Naruto." He said smiling brightly; Rogue smiled back and placed a hand on his shoulder. Naruto's smile got brighter and his eyes seemed to moisten.

"It'll be fine Naruto." Even if he couldn't understand her words she was hoping he'd understand the emotions behind them. Rogue than got up and turned her attention to the rubble. The boy's eyes widened as Rogue lifted the piece of concrete like it was made of Styrofoam. The leg was bloody, bruised, and certainly broken.

Naruto turned green, actually seeing his leg in that shape made it hurt worse. The boy started crying and clutched the leg which only exasperated to problem. The X-Woman knelt down beside him gently stroked his cheek,

"We're gonna get you some help Naruto." Rogue said warmly and wrapped her brown jacket around him, "The prisoner's hurt; I'm bringing him up now." She trying to keep the emotion out of her voice; she didn't want to tear up in front of the boy. In these situations it was important for the rescuer to stay calm,

"Understood, is something wrong Rogue?" He must've heard something in her tone,

"He's only a child." She said quietly and then carefully picked him up. He winced in pain but still managed to smile as he rested his head against her chest. Someone had come to rescue him; Naruto couldn't believe someone cared enough to help him.

…

The X-Men had known to expect a hurt child when Rogue met them at the top of the stairs, she carried him in her arms wrapped in her jacket. But the sight of the pale child invoked a mixture of horror and pity, "Dammit Sinister is there anyone you won't hurt!" Cyclops shouted causing Naruto to flinch and cling to his rescuer tighter,

"You're scarin' the poor boy!" Rogue snapped at the X-Men leader, "Naruto he's not mad at you." She told the boy and hugged him careful to avoid any skin contact. Rogue then looked up at Logan, "I think his legs broken. Oh just to let ya' know he only speaks Japanese." Wolverine nodded, despite his feral appearance the man was something of a polyglot.

"(Alright kid your safe now, we're the good guys.)" Logan told the boy who still looked at him warily, "(We're get you out of here but we gotta take a look at that leg of yours first.)" The boy winced at the mention of his wounded leg and asked:

"(Will it hurt?)" Logan sighed, no point in sugar-coating it,

"(Probably, but it'll hurt a lot worse down the road if it we don't.)" Naruto seemed thoughtful for a moment and then looked up at the green-eyed southern belle.

"(Can you hold my hand Rogue-chan?)" He asked her softly,

"Translation?"

"The kid wants to know if you'll hold his hand while patch his leg up." Logan grumbled,

"Sure thing sugar." She said looking down at him with a smile,

"(Yeah she'll do it.)" He said as Gambit handed him the first aid kit, "(What?)" Logan asked when he noticed the kid glaring at him,

"(It sounds a lot nicer coming from her, you make it sound grumpy.)" Naruto said as he was sat down on the ground.

"Boo hoo" Logan taunted, the boy stuck his tongue out the Canadian to everyone's surprise. Wolverine couldn't help but smirk, "The kid's got spunk, that'll go a long way to helping him recover from this." The boy's leg was broken and had to be reset, Naruto put on a fairly brave face but Rogue noticed he was squeezing her hand fairly hard throughout the process,

"We'll need to get him back to the institute to give him better treatment and to find out why that bastard wanted him in the first place. Let's move out." Cyclops ordered.

…

Though the sunlight hurt his eyes Naruto couldn't help but stare out the window the jet in wonder as the ground got further and further away. Tears of joy stung his eyes, he was free at last, no more dungeons full of mean people that hurt him, no more villagers giving him cold looks, "Are you okay Naruto?" He turned and saw Rogue regard him with a look of concern. Naruto just smiled at her then his stomach gave an audible growl. She pointed at the pocket of her jacket which the boy had wrapped around him like a blanket. Naruto's eyes widened when he found a king sized candy bar. He opened it and to Rogue's surprise offered her half of it, "It's for you little guy, I'm fine." Naruto looked confused for a moment before wolfing down the whole thing in three bites.

…

**Konohagakure, Somewhere in Japan one week later…**

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was ashen as he read the report, "A genetics lab?" The mask ANBU operative nodded grimly, "Was it-?"

"We don't believe it was Orochimaru, the technology was far to advanced and there are no signs of Jutsu being used." The ANBU explained, "It appears a third party attacked the lab, they may have the boy now. We're still sorting through all the details but it appears they took off in an aircraft."

"Very well send the information to SHIELD and see if they can provide us with any leads." Sarutobi didn't trust the western intelligence agency but at this point saw little other choice. His own influence was virtually nonexistence outside of Asia.

"Yes Hokage-sama." The ninja bowed before teleporting out of the room in a swirl of burning leaves.

"Naruto I hope you're alright." The old man said quietly, "It's simply not fair." first a lifetime of being feared and maligned by the village that should've regarded him as a hero to now… Sarutobi shuddered as the memories of his fallen apprentice's twisted experiments surfaced. Anger rapidly overpowered despair as a new thought occurred to him. While finding the boy was a top priority finding the wretch responsible for his kidnapping was a close second. He called for his assistant,

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Tell Uchiha Itachi I have an important mission for him." The Hokage said in a voice like cold steel, the assistant gulped and left immediately.

**AN: **Well first off folks, this isn't one of those stories where Naruto achieves godlike power or becomes a half demon or builds a harem of twenty women. Nothing personal against those stories, it's a matter of opinion on rather or not they're good or bad, as a rule of thumb I'm just not a fan. Also the Hidden Villages are scattered throughout Asia instead of existing in another world or on a lost continent. I know it changes things but give it a chance folks


	2. Chapter One

**Naruto: Between Two Worlds**

**Plot: **A seven year-old Uzumaki Naruto is kidnapped by Sinister; an experience that intertwines his life with that of the X-men who save him and connects the hidden world of the Shinobi to the volatile world of mutants and superhumans. Mokuton! Naruto

**Chapter One**

The blackbird landed gently on what seconds before had been a basketball court moments before, "Aw home sweet home." Logan said as he checked the various instruments to be certain all was well. Scott got up and pulled his mask off revealing his short brown hair. Jean had contacted him as soon as they were in range of her telepathy. She and the Professor were aware of the kid they had rescued from Sinister's lab. He left the cockpit while rubbing his aching neck. Naruto was snuggled against his rescuer wrapped up in her jacket.

"How's our passenger doing?" He asked Rogue,

"Asleep since Hawaii," She answered softly, she had her arm wrapped around him, "Naruto's a sweet kid; he looks like he hasn't eaten a decent meal in weeks so I gave him a candy bar and the first thing he did was offer me half." Her voice quivered

Remy got up and placed a hand on her shoulder; she grabbed his hands and gave a gentle squeeze. Underneath the tough exterior and the super strength he knew Rogue had a big heart. Gambit could only imagine how much it must have hurt her to have seen anyone, especially a child, in that state.

"The boy's safe now thanks to you cher." He said with a grin, "He'll be fine once Hank and Jean patch him up."

Scott turned just as Jean Grey walked in wearing a lab coat a green shirt and a black, full-length skirt. She stopped when she saw Naruto's sleeping form.

"He really just a child," Jean said quietly, "What on Earth could have Sinister wanted with him? Given what he's just been through I'm not sure how he's going to react to a medical exam." The other's nodded in agreement,

"We took some blood samples from the lab, Logan said they were his." Cyclops interjected, the redhead nodded,

"That'll remove the need for taking any blood for now, what's his name?"

….

"_Naruto,"_ A voice said gently, it was unfamiliar but gentle_ "I need you to wake up." _Naruto opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Rogue still had her arm wrapped around him; standing over her was a woman he didn't recognize. The other woman smiled at him and knelt down so that she was at the same height as him, _"Hello Naruto, my name Is Jean Grey." _The blonde blinked in surprise when he the woman's voice was coming from inside his head. The redhead smiled, _"I'm a telepath, that means I can know what people are thinking and I can speak to them with my mind." _Naruto's expression grew very worried,

"_Uh oh I hope she doesn't find out that I'm the one who set off stink bombs in the police station." _Jean's eyebrow went up ever slightly.

"_Don't worry I won't tell_ _anyone." _She winked at him as his eyes widened like saucers, "_Now listen I know that you went through something very traumatic," _images of the various experiments Sinister had conducted flashed through the child's mind. Jean gently repressed those memories for the time being and looked him in the eye, _"but your safe now, no one here wants to hurt you. We want to help you." _The boy looked at her suspiciously,

"_Why? Nobody ever wants to help me." _More memories came up to surface: memories of the cold stares of the villagers, the whisperings of "monster" and "demon" among other things, the memories of parents not letting their children go near him. It appeared Sinister wasn't his first tormentor.

"Jean what's wrong?" Rogue asked when Naruto started tearing up; she could see the pain in the child's face. He calmed down a little after the southern woman gave him a gentle hug

"I'll explain later." She said quietly, _"Rogue helped you," _Jean reminded him, the boy looked up at his rescuer who smiled at him, _"this is a safe place full of people who want to help you." _There was a cautious kind of hope in the boy's eyes. Then his stomach gave a heartfelt growl the boy clutched his stomach in pain,

"_Are any of them cooks?" _Jean gave a warm smile,

"_We'll get you something to eat after we get you cleaned up." _After explaining the concept of telekinesis to him Jean levitated him. Naruto's expression was something between terror and wonder as floated. They descended the ramp with their young charge floating next to Jean; two people were waiting for them.

One reminded Naruto of the old man giving off an aura of wisdom and intellect. He was a bald man in a black suite with a red tie; his clear blue eyes focused on Naruto intently making him feel nervous.

"_You have nothing to fear Mr. Uzumaki," _A voice echoed in his mind as the man in the wheel chair gave him a kindly smile,

"_You're a telepath like Jean-san?" _The professor nodded at him,

"_My name is Charles Xavier, though my students have nicknamed Professor X. The young lady next to me will take you to get proper medical treatment." _The person next to him had an empty wheel chair. She was a pretty girl a few years older than Naruto, with wavy chestnut brown hair that stopped at her shoulders. She wore a pink shirt with a white cat on it and blue jeans. Her light blue eyes widened in horror when she saw him. Naruto was afraid he had done something wrong. Jean glanced at the girl; he wondered she was doing that mind talk thing with her. The girl seemed to calm herself and smiled at him,

"(Hello)" the girl said using words he could understand much to his relief, "(I'm Pride Kitty.)" She introduced herself as Naruto was placed down into the wheelchair. She was glad to be able to make use of all those Japanese lessons Logan had given her.

"(Uzumaki Naruto)" He said quietly feeling his cheeks warm he wasn't used to pretty girls being nice to him. Kitty began pushing the wheel chair away from the Blackbird, "(Where are we going Kitty-san?)"

"(To see Dr. McCoy, he'll take care of your leg and find out why that creep took you.)" Naruto shuddered at the mention of the monster clinging to the jacket like a security blanket. Kitty grimaced; she hadn't meant to reopen that wound. She gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze, Naruto flinched slightly, "(You're safe now.)"

"_There is something you should know about Dr. McCoy before we get there Naruto."_ Jean said as she started walking beside Kitty and him. Naruto glanced at her looking a little nervous, _"You noticed how everyone here_ _has a special gift?"_ The boy nodded,

"_Are you a squad of ninja from another village?" _Jean blinked and gave a surprised laugh, she hadn't expected that one. The telepath had accidently broken off mental contact with the boy.

"Care to clue me in?" Kitty asked,

"He wanted to know if we were ninja." The brunette raised an eyebrow,

"That's a new one." Kitty said with a raised eyebrow, she bent over to the wheelchair to peck him on the forehead. Naruto turned bright red which elicited a smirk from the perky girl, "What a cutie," Pride then turned to Jean with puppy eyes, "can we keep him?" The telepath rolled her eyes at the fourteen-year old girl's antics. She turned her attention back toward Naruto whose thoughts revolved around trying to understand girls.

"_As I was trying to say earlier everyone here is what's known as a mutant, each of us has a special gift. For example Kitty can walk through walls. Some of us like Dr. McCoy look very different because of our powers."_

"_Different how?" _

"_Well he's covered with blue fur and because of this people sometimes called him a monster and treated badly even though he's a nice a person underneath." _Narutolowered his head in understanding, Jean give him his privacy those memories surfaced once more. If he was going to stay here she and the professor would need to give the poor child counseling, _"Just don't be scared of him okay?" _The boy nodded as they arrived in front Hank's office.

….

**Two hours later…**

The exam had gone as well as could be expected; while not put off by Beast's appearance Naruto had been unnerved by the exam itself. Beast's good nature helped some but Naruto none the less had the beginnings of a phobia as doctors, labs, and needles were concerned, _"That'll be something the Professor may have to work on with him." _Jean mused to herself; her colleague's voice brought her back to the present.

"Well Mr. Uzumaki is already making a decent recovery." The blue furred mutant said in amazement as he examined the X-rays, "It appears he possesses a healing rate and that's the tip of the iceberg."

"So he is a mutant then?" Jean asked as she examined Beast's findings.

"He does now possess an active X-Gene, even in the absence of that he's exceedingly unique. This boy represents an entirely unknown branch of humanity." Jean's eyes widened as her own analysis of the data confirmed it. She then picked up on something her college had said,

"What do you mean "now possesses"?"

"Well in the older samples the boy's X-Gene is dormant. I believe the point of Sinister's experimentations, aside from satisfying his sadistic tendencies, were to awaken the poor child's mutation." Hank speculated, "In fact it would have remained dormant if left alone."

"His healing rate?" Jean asked. It was perplexing to her since there were plenty of mutants with healing rates, why would Sinister be interested in such a common ability. Dr. McCoy shook his head and replied:

"No Xavier used Cerebro and discovered the boy now possess the ability to generate and manipulate plant matter. Which only adds gives us more questions than answers." Jean herself was wondering about the treatment Naruto had received at the hands of the villagers in his memories.

"Where is our new ward now?" McCoy asked,

"Kitty's giving him a bath." Jean said in amusement as she began picking up on their thoughts.

….

"(But I'm a big boy I can bathe myself! And you're a girl!)" Naruto's face was red with embarrassment as Kitty check the water temperature.

"(With that cast on you'll need some assistance getting in and out. It was either me or Logan-san)" The brunette said as she grabbed a trash bag that was hanging on the door knob.

"(You mean the smelly man in yellow?)" Pride nodded as Naruto gulped. Kitty then placed it over the cast, "(This is to keep water from getting on the cast. Now if you're good I'll show you really cool.)"

"(What is it?) Naruto asked curiously, Kitty winked at him. The shower was an amusing affair. The kid was like a mini-Daffy Duck: quick to get angry or flustered though he was a little more prone to the latter response in this current situation. Pride wound up, to Naruto's horror, scrubbing his back for him and cleaning his hair which was especially dirty. His sputtering was a welcome distraction from his borderline skeletal figure.

Kitty did notice that the bruises seemed to be fading to her relief. Another surprising thing was the whisker-like markings on his face; at first she thought they were drawn on with marker or something of the like, "(They don't come off?)" She asked as she traced the markings with her finger.

"(N-no I was born with them.)" Naruto said shyly, Kitty only smiled more as she dried off his hair with a towel.

"(They make you look cute!)" The blonde's cheeks turned pink at the compliment. It wasn't something he was used to and found he liked it. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror from the wheelchair his skin was still chalk white but he was clean now he was wearing white t-shirt and black shorts, he really did feel a lot better. Kitty had been a lot nicer to him then the people at orphanage, he hated to admit it but he really couldn't have done it on his own. The X-Girl had started pushing the wheelchair out of when Naruto said something she couldn't quite hear, "(What?)"

"(Thank you, for being nice to me Kitty-san,)" He said quietly, "(and I'm sorry was grumpy.)" Naruto lowered his head. The blonde felt someone gently squeeze his hand. He looked up; his dark sapphire eyes met Kitty's sky blue ones. She gave him a kind a kind smile and said:

"(Don't worry about it little guy, all's forgiven now let's get you something to eat!)" The mention of food caused Naruto's eyes to light up.

….

"(No ramen?)" Naruto's horrified tone remind Kitty of something out of crime show like when someone found a loved one had been murdered or when they were sentenced to the electric chair.

"(Sorry Naruto-san, but we've plenty of other stuff.)" She said as search through the fridge, which was packed with an eclectic array of food. Lots of takeout (not the healthiest but being superheroes left didn't always leave time to cook proper meals), sandwich stuff, and a smorgasbord of other left overs, so Kitty made a bit of everything, "(One pastrami on rye, two egg rolls, and a bowl of cream of potato soup coming up. Take your time or you'll get sick, I'm not expecting you to eat it all but be sure try a little of everything.)" She explained as she sat down with her own sandwich.

**Five minutes later…**

"(That was tasty Kitty-san!)" Naruto said happily and let out an audible belch, "(Hehe sorry.)" He said sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Woah." Kitty had been surprised back into English. While she had barely touched her own sandwich Naruto had practically inhaled his food, "(Um Kitty-san, can I have some more?)" The X-Girl's eyes bugged out of her head,

"(Say what now?)"

"(I'm still hungry.)" He explained, his tone was serious but Kitty was convinced he was joking.

"I'll get him some more food." Logan said as he walked in, "Hank said the kid's got a healing rate, we tend eat a lot more than most folks." The Canadian explained and started going through the fridge. He pulled out a couple of things sniffing them, "Alright this stuff's gonna go over in a day or two anyway so the kid might as well eat it."

"He's not a garbage disposal Logan!" Kitty shouted as Logan began warming up the leftovers. Naruto's gave her a concerned look and whispered:

"(Is Logan-san trying to poison me?)" Wolverine flashed him an evil grin,

"(Not this time kid, just be sure to stay on my good side.)" He said casually placing a couple of pieces of fried chicken in front of Naruto. A little hesitant at first he gobbled it down with gusto; by the time Naruto was full the refrigerator was more spacious then before. To his unending delight Logan had even an unopened can of beer saving him a trip out.

"(Thank you for the food Kitty-san, Logan-san.)" Naruto's bright, cheery voice was growing on the brunette. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair affectionately. A bird-like squawk pierced the air causing the boy to jump a little in his seat, "(What's that!)" Kitty grinned,

"(You've been a good boy so I'll show you.)" Kitty then switched back to English, "Lockheed come to mamma!" She called out, the sound of flapping wings could be heard as something the size of a house cat flew in and landed on Kitty's shoulder. The look of awe and wonder on Naruto's face was priceless.

Naruto had seen them in story books the Jiji-san had read to him, but he'd never imagined he'd meet one in real life. It was covered in thick purple scales and a tail. It stared at him with yellow, pupil-less eyes while stretching it's bat-like wings, "(A dragon!)" Naruto gasped out in amazement, "(Can I pet him?)" Kitty knelt down in front of him so he could reach him,

"(Sure Naruto-san, Lockheed loves to be scratched behind the horns.)" The whisker-faced blonde started to do just that eliciting a purr from the dragon. Then he stopped, for a brief terrifying instant he was afraid he was afraid it was all a dream and he'd wake up in the cold cell again. This didn't go unnoticed by Kitty or Logan,

"(You okay kiddo?)" Wolverine's tone of voice lacked some of it's usual gruffness. Naruto looked at him and for a brief second Logan thought the kid was going to break down in tears. The blonde then looked at the table and to everyone's surprise smiled,

"(No ramen, if it was all a dream there would be ramen! I'm really not in the bad place anymore.)" Naruto's tone was beyond relived. Kitty gave Naruto the biggest hug he had ever gotten while Lockheed crawled into his lap,

"(Your safe now Naruto,)" She said dropping the honorific, "(your part of the family now.)" Tears filled Naruto's eyes upon hearing the words he'd never thought would be said to him.

Outside the kitchen Jean wiped a tear from her eye, _"Will he be okay Professor?" _she asked her mentor,

"_With those words from Kitty the healing has already begun. But it will be a long road and there is something that has me concerned." _Jean looked at Xavier who was watching the boy with a thoughtful look on his face, _"It's a problem for another day though, for now let us join them Jean."_

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved, and signed up to be alerted! I welcome constructive criticism, suggestions, questions, and abhor flames. Oh I am aware the prologue was full of glitches and will them as soon as possible. Tune in next time for Naruto's first counseling session and Itachi's hunt for Sinister!


	3. Chapter Two

**Naruto: Between Two Worlds**

**Plot: **A seven year-old Uzumaki Naruto is kidnapped by Sinister; an experience that intertwines his life with that of the X-men who save him and connects the hidden world of the Shinobi to the volatile world of mutants and superhumans. Mokuton! Naruto

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Two **

**Xavier Institute six days ago... **

Naruto sat nervously on the couch in Xavier's office as Jean and the Professor looked at one another. The boy guessed (correctly) they were talking with their thoughts, he hoped he wasn't in trouble. He had given some thought to pulling a few pranks after Dr. McCoy had removed his cast a few hours ago. Mostly involving Wolverine who amused himself by irking the boy, _"Wait Xavier-sensei and Jean-sensei can read minds they must already know I was thinking about pranking Logan-san!"_

"_No Mr Uzumaki that was not what we called you here for but since we're on the subject I would strongly advise against that. Logan has a rather poor sense of humor," _At this point Xavier projected an image of Wolverine, claws out, chasing a blue-furred, pointy-eared, man with a tail through the halls of the manor. Naruto paled a little, Charles allowed himself a small smile,

"_Okay Xavier-sensei," _He thought glumly,_"So what did you bring me here for?"_

"_Were going to help you learn English. I know your not comfortable with communicating in this manner." _Naruto looked embarrassed but Xavier gave him a comforting smile, _"You have nothing to be ashamed of, most non psychics are unnerved by telepathy. Truth be told you've adapted to this better then most." _Naruto smiled brightly at the praise,

_"So how are you going to teach me English?"_

"_Jean and myself will use our telepathic abilities to implant a basic knowledge of the English language into your mind." _Naruto blinked a few times trying understand what the older man had just told him.

"_Okay." _He thought back_, "So you're going to just dump it in my brain?" _Jean smiled and Xavier sighed,

_"Yes... that is one way of putting it. Now I need you to close your eyes and open your mind." _Naruto did as he was told and drifted off into unconsciousness.

**...**

**Naruto's Mindscape...**

Xavier was in the process of implanting knowledge while Jean was tasked with investigating something the professor had sensed within the boy, "A sewer?" Jean asked as she surveyed her surroundings; Naruto's mindscape appeared to be a labyrinth of partially flooded tunnels. She then noticed the pipes and wiring along the walls, "Maybe it's a power plant of some kind?" Her musings were a welcome distraction from the murderous presence that hung in the air.

At first Jean hadn't been able to sense anything on the surface but once she got into Naruto's subconscious it hit her like a ton of bricks. The telepath was certainly no stranger to ancient beings of great power. Having once been host to the Phoenix Deity she instant recognized Naruto as being in the same boat as she had once been, "No it's worse," she said as she got closer and closer to it.

For everything else the Phoenix at it's core was not evil, but rather a force of passion and rebirth that had been corrupted by the manipulations of the Hellfire Club. This thing however was malice incarnate at least it didn't feel as powerful as the Phoenix. She did acknowledge that it was closer then anything else the X-Men had come across though.

**"What's this?" **The creature said when Jean entered it's lair, the redheaded telepath froze when she saw it. Behind iron bars that looked far too flimsy for her comfort was a huge monstrous-looking reddish-orange fox. It stared at her with one slitted red eye open as it rested it's head on it's paws, **"Yet another medium visits me in my prison."**

"Another?" Jean asked, her curiosity caused her to take a few steps closer. The Fox grinned revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

**"The one called Sinister, he was amusing," **It's grin got ever wider, **"But not as amusing as the Jinchuriki of the Phoenix could be." **The emotional self control that Jean required to keep her abilities under control kept her from giving any outward reaction at the mention of the entity that had possessed her and led to her death. What she felt on the inside was quite likely another story.

"Jinchuriki? I assume that means host or vessel, do you require one to survive or have you possessed him for some purpose?"

**"Do I look like I'm here of my free will you overweight whore! This worthless sack of flesh is my prison just as his retched mother was before him!" **The demon growled thrashing against the prison and lashed at her, it's claws stopped inches away from her face. The bars of the prison were stronger then they appeared **"This abominable seal prevents me from escaping and slowly siphons off my power and gives it to the brat."** The psychic made a mental note of that fact,

"The Phoenix claimed to be a deity, is that what you are? What is your connection to it?" The Fox looked the redhead in the eye who managed not to flinch;

**"Your courage amuses me, I should not be surprised since the Phoenix choose you to be it's host. I am the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a remnant of the one that opposed the Phoenix. We were once like the sun and moon, life and death, yin and yang," **The Demon explained, **"Throughout the ages demon and deity balanced each other out, one brought destruction while the other signaled rebirth."**

"What upset this balance?" Jean asked fascinated at the prospect of learning more about the Phoenix. The Fox's grin widened,

"**What could disrupt a cycle that was vital to the balance of this world since time immemorial? A misguided human, of your misbegotten breed in fact."**

"A mutant?" The fox blinked,

"**Is that what your ilk call yourselves in this era? Yes he was a "mutant"; one even more powerful then ****En Sabah Nur of old" **Jean froze at the mention of Apocalypse and the thought that a mutant more powerful then him once walked the Earth,**"but the Sage was rather soft of heart and hoped to spare the humans of his era the fate of Atlantis and Hyboria. I now tire of the history lesson, leave me." **The demon said in a dismissive tone and began bathing itself in rather rude place. Jean left to tell Xavier what she had found out and to forget what she just saw.

**...**

"Naruto," A familiar voice said, "Are ya okay?" the young Jinchuriki opened his eyes to see Rogue sitting next to him on his bed. Instead of her uniform she wore a pair of black denim jeans and an emerald turtleneck.

"I'm alright Ms. Rogue." Naruto answered in English, the boy looked around and realized he was in his room. His eyes widened when he realized he was speaking another language,"Wait I can understand you! No more brain talking!" The boy exclaimed and began jumping with joy. The boy suddenly stopped and looked at Rogue who grinned at his antics, "How did I wind up here?"

"Ya needed some rest after the Professor was done so Jean brought ya up here." She explained, "I wanted to check up on ya and to let ya know dinner's gonna be ready soon. Why don't ya come on down there's some folks I want ya to meet before we eat." She suggested,

"Okay Ms. Rogue," The blonde said as he bounced out of bed, "Who are they?"

"Meh brother Kurt, his family." The X-Woman explained as she took Naruto's hand and led him into the hallway, "You'll like Kurt in fact ya and him are a lot alike, he's a bit of prankster too." Rogue knew though they both had a lot more in common that _"Including how ya'll got treated badly on account of things ya'll couldn't help."_ She thought sadly to herself as she thought about what Jean had revealed to her earlier. If anyone could understand what Naruto had endured it was Kurt. Though how anyone could look at Naruto and see something other then a lonely child was beyond her.

"Ms. Rogue?" Naruto said quietly shaking the Southerner out of her musings. The boy was looking up at her with moist eyes,

"Is somethin' wrong sugah?" She asked,

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you: thank you," he said with a soft smile, "for saving me Ms. Rogue and for being so nice to me. I th-thought I was going to die...that no one was going to come save me." Naruto started tearing up, the older woman got down one knee to comfort him.

"Oh sugah if you start crying I'm gonna start sobbin' too. Cheer up little guy tonight's gonna be a fun night for ya." She said with a wink, "Now let's dry them tears and get you downstairs handsome okay?" Naruto grinned and nodded,

"Oh Ms. Rogue if I'm really careful can I have a hug?" He asked, Kitty had explained to him about her powers the other day. Rogue bit her lip as Naruto looked up at her with his deep blue eyes,

"How am Ah suppose to say no to face like that?" She gave an exaggerated sigh and hugged the blonde tightly. The boy rested his head happily on her shoulder, he had never felt so safe and happy before. When the hug ended she ruffled his hair affectionately, "Are ya happy now ya' little scamp?" Rogue asked, Naruto flashed his signature grin and nodded, "That's one dazzling smile ya got there boy, between that and them eyes of yours you'll have the girls chasin after ya in a few years." Rogue's own grin widened as Naruto turned beet red.

"Th-h-ank you Ms. Rogue," he sputtered and scratched the back of his head. His warm, sapphire eyes met her emerald ones, "I think your one of the nicest, most beautiful girls in the whole world." Rogue's cheeks warmed, somehow not even Remy at his most flattering could compare to that.

"Thanks sugah, you know Ah've already got a boyfriend though," She took his hand again and led him downstairs,

"I know Ms. Rogue," The boy answered, "Be careful though I think Remy might be perverted." He whispered to her causing Rogue to let out a startled laugh.

**...**

Jaws were dropped and eyes were bugged out as Jean finished explaining the details of what she had learned earlier, "A mutant more powerful zhen Apocalypse?" Kurt gasped, his blue fur was standing on end at the thought.

"That's what the fox said," Jean replied,

"At least this sage was a good guy if he saved the world from a super demon." A teen with parted brown hair and blue eyes said with great relief. His name was Robert "Bobby" Drake aka Iceman, "It seems to be rule of thumb that the really powerful mutants are either really crazy, really evil, or both."

"Remy's noticed that pattern as well." Gambit said somberly, the others nodded in agreement, "So long story short Naruto's got a demon that used to be as powerful as da Phoenix inside em?"

"Yes, it's probably the reason why he was treated the way he was if the villagers were aware of his...status." Jean's countenance darkened as she thought about the isolation and loneliness the boy had experienced, "It doesn't appear to be influencing or hurting him in any way but the Professor and I are going to start building some psychic barriers in his mind just to be safe."

A moment later Rogue walked into the room with Naruto in tow. The blonde glanced at all the people in the room and found himself feeling more then a little nervous. Rogue noticed this, "Naruto sugah," She said gently,"how about I introduce ya' to everyone one at a time so ya don't feel so crowded?"

"Okay Ms. Rogue." Naruto said shyly, he recognized the first person that walked up from the memory Xavier had shown him earlier. The others got nervous uncertain of how Naruto would react to his appearance,

"Hello Naruto, I'm Kurt Wagner." The devil-like mutant knelt down and held out a three fingered hand. To everyone's pleasant surprise Naruto smiled and shook Kurt's hand,

"You're Ms. Rogue's brother? It's really nice to meet you Mr. Kurt." Kurt grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. A woman with waist-length chestnut brown locks, soft blue eyes, and wearing a scarlet-colored, no non sense business suite came up next and stood beside Kurt.

"Same here mien friend, allow me to introduce mien lovely vife: Vanda" She gave him a friendly smile,

"How old are you Naruto?"

"Seven." he answered shyly

"Wow seven ? I have two boys around your age would you like to meet them?" Naruto blinked in surprise, normally parents kept their children away from him. Maybe he would finally have friends his own age.

"Okay." The boy answered happily,

"Thomas, William," Wanda called out, "There's someone I want you to meet." Two nervous-looking boys around Naruto's age walked in. They were exactly alike except for their hair, one had neatly parted snow white and the other had messy raven colored hair. Their mother seemed to notice the looks on their faces "What did you do?"

"Billy broke it!" The white-haired one shouted and pointed at his twin,

"No Tommy broke it!" Billy countered and pointed right back at his brother.

"What did you break?" Wanda demanded and put her hands on her hips. Under the scrutiny of their mother's glare the twins broke,

"A statue of Professor Xavier's head." Tommy answered pitifully,

"In one of the hallways." Billy added, then both boys looked up at their mother with big puppy dog eyes, "It was an accident."

"We're both very sorry mom." Wanda rolled her eyes as Naruto stared at them in confusion.

"We are guests in Professor Xavier's home and as such I expect both of you to be on your best behavior! I'm still mad at the two of you for blowing up our last apartment! You two were lucky Mr. Stark and your Uncle Pietro were there or you could've both been killed!" Billy tried to say something but his white haired twin elbowed him in the ribs,

"We'll be good mommy." Thomas assured her,

"We promise." Billy added, Wanda gave them one last glare before turning back around to face the blonde-haired boy, "Naruto Uzumaki I'd like you to meet my sons Thomas and William."

"How did you guys blow up your apartment?" He asked in confusion,

"Prank gone out of control." Tommy said quickly, Naruto frowned and blinked,

"I pull pranks all the time and I never blew my apartment up." Wanda raised an eyebrow, Jean had mentioned the boy had resorted to pranks and practical jokes to attract attention. While her heart went out to the poor boy she certainly hoped he didn't give her sons any ideals.

"We were playing with fireworks."

"Your not supposed to play with fireworks inside." Naruto said in scolding tone of voice that sounded both strange and amusing coming from someone his age,"Your supposed to play with them outside where there's lots of space in case it blows up."

"And your supposed to have adult supervision." Wanda added noticing the looks on her boy's faces,

"I didn't have anyone watching me, I wish someone had been though," Naruto said rubbing his arm,

"What happened?" Wanda asked, a child who wanted adult supervision?

"I sat myself on fire," He held up the arm he had been rubbing, the twins and the adults who were listening widened their eyes, "I had really bad burns on my arms but they went away after a few days." Wanda and Rogue looked horrified.

"Ya could've been killed!" Rogue gasped, "Under no circumstances are ya to go near anything that can blow up, burn you, or cut you without some kind of adult supervision, ya understand me?" Naruto had been lectured many times by the Hokage, Konoha's Uchiha-run Military Police, and the ANBU Black Ops. None of them though held the boy's undivided attention like the two women standing over him, "I don't want anything bad to happen to ya okay?" She pleaded Naruto's eyes widened, guilt flooded him at the thought of worrying Ms. Rogue.

"Yes Ms. Rogue I'll be good," he answered pitifully, "Thank you for worrying about me."

"Just be good little guy now why y'all don't you run off and play. We'll call ya when dinner's ready."

"Yes Auntie Rogue," Tommy said and then with a speed that most children (outside a shinobi village unknown those present) weren't capable poked his brother on his head and shouted, "Your it!" and bolted off,

"Great Quicksilver 2.0." Wolverine grumbled and downed another beer. Wanda put her hands on her hips and fixed Logan with a menacing stare. Naruto was more focused on the glum-looking Billy Maximoff,

"Aren't you going to chase us?" he asked,

"I never catch him, actually I never catch anyone." Billy's expression became downcast, Naruto held his hand out,

"Tag me Billy, I'll catch him!" The blonde said with a determined grin, the raven-haired boy's countenance brightened considerably,

"R-really? Thanks Naruto!"

**...**

"What a kind boy." Wanda Maximoff Wagner said softly to her sister-in-law as the other two chased after Thomas.

"I know, he's a sweet heart." Rogue replied, "He's got a bit of mischievous side to 'im though." She said thinking back to his comment about Remy.

"How bad vas his...upbringing?" Kurt asked hesitantly,

"Ah don't think anything violent was done, least not till that bastard Sinister got 'im anyways. Accordin' to Jean they treated the boy like a leper and pretty much tried to ignore him. I don't think he's ever gotten to play with kids his own age till today." Rogue explained her anger building with every word. Kurt placed a comforting hand on his foster sister's arm,

"Anger vill not help him, only love and friendship." He said kindly, Rogue exhaled and unclenched her fists, she gave her brother a grateful smile. He was pretty much the only person who could calm her down. Which given her inhuman strength made Kurt's presence all the more appreciated, by Gambit and Iceman especially. He had left the team after marrying Wanda to raise his stepsons and his daughter Talia. She was truly happy for her brother even though she missed having him around.

"Your right Kurt," Rogue said, "I hope Naruto doesn't get his hopes to high on catching Tommy. The boy already moves faster than greased lightning, he'll be as fast as Pietro when his mutation kicks in."

**...**

**An Hour Later...**

Tommy staggered in looking worn out and miserable, Billy came in behind him behind equally fatigued but grinning. Finally Naruto bounced in with barely even a sweat and the biggest grin of them all. Wanda, Kurt, and Rogue were waiting for them when they came in, "Did ya'll have fun?"

"Yeah Naruto tagged Tommy twice!" Billy said, the adult's eyes widened in surprise. While not yet superhuman the white-haired Maximoff was considerably faster then the average seven year old.

"I had lots of fun Ms. Rogue!" Naruto shouted happily, "Can we play more after dinner?"

"I'm too tired,"Tommy said oblivious to his mother and stepfather's looks of surprise, "He never stopped chasing me! He tagged me when I stopped to catch my breath." All three adults stared at Naruto as what the future speedster told them sank in: he had worn Tommy out, essentially victory by attrition. Naruto seemed only slightly winded by the whole affair.

The whisker faced boy was getting nervous due to the stares the grown ups were giving him, "D-did I do something wrong?" he asked looking worried,

"No Naruto it's just no one's eveh worn out Thomas before." Rogue assured him, "Ya don't tire out easily do ya?" Naruto grinned mischievously,

"Nope I don't tire out and I don't give up! Back in Konoha the police chased me for three hours straight because I took all the dirty underwear from their lockers and scattered them all over the main square." He said with pride, the boy's expression quickly soured though, "When they caught me I had to do their laundry for a month."

"Actions have consequences Naruto." Wanda admonished softly,

"I know gramps told me the same thing, he makes me clean up after all my pranks."

"Your grandpa?" Rogue asked in confusion, she had been under the impression the boy was an orphan.

"He's not really my grandpa I just call him that because it makes his eye do this funny twitching thing. He's our village leader and he would visit me every week to go shopping since he knows when the shops are open and then we go out to old man Ichiraku's for all the ramen I can eat!" His cheer and enthusiasm certainly brightened everyone's mood, "Hey are we having ramen for dinner?"

"No sugah," Rogue answered, she had learned of the boy's love of all thing noodle related earlier when he devoured ten packs of instant ramen for lunch, "You can't just eat ramen Naruto, you've got to eat a lotta different things if you want to be big and strong."

"I also like red bean broth but I don't like green stuff." He said

"Naruto vegetables are really healthy for ya. Were gonna work on getting you to try different thangs and were also gonna work on your table manners." The boy blinked in confusion,

"What's wrong with the way I eat?" Rogue sighed trying to think of a tactful way of putting it.

"Cause Remmy's never seen anyone with worse table manner then Logan till you came along." Gambit interjected, Naruto glared at the Cajun thief, "Nothin' da ladies like mo' then a gentleman." Remmy said as he handed Rogue a single red rose and kissed her gloved hand. The southern belle rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's dramatics,

"Makes me wonder why Ah put up wit' ya?" Rogue said trying not to smile,

"You wound me, mon chere! You don't think I'm a gentleman?" The southern belle Naruto muttered something in Japanese under his breath. Since he could now speak English the adults guessed it was certainly not a compliment, "Come now everyone Remy's made his world famous gumbo."

"What's gumbo?"

"It's meh favorite dish Naruto," Rogue explained, "It's a seafood soup served with rice. Will ya give it a try, for me?" Naruto looked up at her smiling face and couldn't bring himself to argue,

"Yes Ms. Rogue."

**...**

Naruto was sitting in between Rogue and Wanda, both women took turns gently correcting his table etiquette. He made an admirable effort to improve himself by the time Remy had served him up a large bowl of his homemade seafood gumbo. Naruto enjoyed some rolls before trying the gumbo, "It it tastes...different." The blonde said thoughtfully after a full minute of chewing the spoonful of shrimp.

"Well Mr. Uzumaki I suspect your palate is accustomed the cuisine of your native land and has yet to adjust itself to western tastes." Beast explained as he enjoyed some soup himself. Naruto blinked in confusion and looked at Xavier,

"I thought you said I'd be able to understand people now!" Naruto said accusingly, McCoy groaned as everyone laughed.

"He sayin you ain't used food from this part of the world." Logan said when he got himself under control,

"Oh" he said before returning to his meal with a puzzled look on his face. He was fairly familiar with the seasonings that went into ramen and couldn't place the array of seasonings dancing across his taste buds, "What kind of spices are in this? I can tell there's some kind of pepper but that's it."

"The recipe's a secret mon ami." Gambit answered, "I'm guessin though the herb and spices we have in Louisiana aren't real common in da Land o' da Rising Sun. So wha' do ya think?" Remy asked, the LeBou's took a great deal of pride in their skills as thieves, that was well known in certain circles. What wasn't well known was their passion the culinary arts, if this boy disparaged his cooking he would forever earn Remmy's enmity.

"It's pretty tasty!" Naruto said, "I still miss old man Ichiraku's ramen though."

"You sayin' some old man's instant noodles is better then this?" Rogue grimaced knowing how serious her boyfriend took cooking. Naruto though shook his head in confusion,

"Old man Ichiraku doesn't make instant ramen!" Naruto said sounding almost...scandalized, "He runs a restaurant and makes everything himself even the broth, the noodles, and all the other wonderful things that go into the glorious gift from the Gods known as ramen!" Naruto said with a fervor that Kurt knew for a fact most ministers couldn't muster.

"This kid really needs to switch to decaf." Bobby Drake aka Iceman said dryly,

"I don't drink coffee at all." Naruto said in confusion,

_"He's a sweet boy," _Rogue thought to herself and sighed, _"He really is but Lord is he dense."_

"He vas joke mien friend." Kurt said, he had been waiting for a chance to speak to the boy, "I'm given to understand you are quite ze accomplished joker in your hometown."

"Yep I'm Konohagakure's number one loud mouth prankster!" He declared proudly not noticing that Logan had started choking on his food.

"This is why ya don't shout at the dinna table Naruto." Rogue scolded,

"It's not that Rogue," Logan said after swallowing down the food and looking at Naruto in disbelief "Where'd you say you from kid?"

"Konohagakure, it means "Village Hidden in the-"

"Leaves." Logan finished, "Sinister kidnapped a kid from a fucking shinobi village!" He said slowly in a tone that sounded almost...frightened,

"Logan language!" Wanda shouted trying to cover her children's ears,

"Vhat's a shinobi?" Kurt asked to his surprise it was Naruto who supplied the answer,

"It's another word for ninja." He explained in between bites of food,

"Your a ninja?" Thomas asked with both awe and envy,

"Not yet, I was supposed to start at the academy this fall that's where the kids who can become shinobi are taught."

"Logan is he serious?" Rogue asked, she was really hoping that this was the boy's sense of humor at work. The thought of the innocent child next to her being sent to a place where he'd be taught to kill horrified her. Logan's reaction aside Naruto may have been a prankster but was honest to a fault.

"I didn't know how there training regime worked but I've had a few run ins with Konoha shinobi over the years," Logan said, "They have an array of supernatural powers the varies from ninja to ninja." He glanced at Hank, "I'm guessing that's where the energy manipulation kicks in, it ain't exactly like the magic Doc Strange and Wanda do but it's close." Naruto glanced at everyone as they all stared with various expressions. Most of them were having thoughts similar to Rogue,

"What did I do?" Naruto asked, he wondered if they didn't like ninja. Maybe they wouldn't want him around anymore, _"What if Ms. Rogue doesn't want to be my friend anymore." _That thought was like a knife to his heart. Jean picked up on his thoughts and tried to calm him down,

"Nothing Naruto, it's just that with exception of Logan none of us have ever met a ninja." Jean explained, "It took us by surprise that's all."

"That's actually pretty cool man," Bobby said, "Know any cool ninja stories?"

"I don't know a lot of history, umm...how about the story of the Yodamie Hokage? It means the Fourth Fire Shadow." he explained seeing most of the people giving him a confused look, switching between languages was becoming a little less awkward for him, "The Hokage is the leader our village and our protector." he said with rare reverence, "The Yodamie was the greatest of them of all. During the last Shinobi War he once defeated 200 enemy ninja all by himself that was why he was named Hokage." Naruto's expression grew strangely somber, "There was no ninja who could defeat him and he loved our village more then anything, he even died for the village."

"I thought you said no ninja could beat him." Billy said, many of the adults were wondering the same thing. Naruto shook his head,

"It wasn't a ninja, it was a monster...the Kyubi no Yoko, the Nine Demon Fox." The adults were mostly able to keep themselves composed this time around. Billy and Thomas were wide eyed, "Seven years ago it just appeared out of nowhere and started destroying everything...a lot of people were killed by that monster. It could breath fire and it's tails could create winds strong enough to flatten mountains." The Maximoff twins paled, "The Yodamie Hokage tried to fight with everything he had but it was too powerful to defeat with normal ninjutsu so instead he used a kinjutsu, a forbidden art, to destroy it at the cost of his life."

_"Oh my Gawd, he really doesn't know!" _All of the adults were having similar thoughts,

"That's not a very happy ending." Thomas said quietly,

"The village survived thanks to him, every October Tenth they have a festival in his honor. Everyone loved him," he said quietly, "everyone respected and admired him. I've...I've never told anyone this...not even gramps but I have a dream." Everyone was paying rapt attention now, a little bit of true anger showed through, "A lot of people in my village don't like me, they treat me like dirt...like I'm nothing." His bitter expression gave way to cautious hope, "But one day I'll be a great ninja, the best ever and I'll become Hokage and then every one will respect just like they do the Fourth! Uzumaki Naruto legendary ninja!"

_"It vould seem even before he vas a mutant he had zhe spirit of an X-Man." _Kurt mused,

For the rest of the meal Naruto wowed the little Maximoffs with tales some of more elaborate pranks. Kurt and Bobby joined in the conversation, the ninja boy's exploits put theirs to shame. The others were fairly quiet trying to process everything they had learned from the boy.

**...**

Rogue and Wanda stepped into the Professor private study where most of the adults were gathered, "Hey where's Kurt?" Bobby asked, the two women smiled and rolled their eyes,

"The big kid decided to amuse the little kids with his collection of Looney Tunes cartoons." Rogue explained, Bobby's eyes went wide with envy.

"The boxed DVD set! Ah man I've been wanting to watch that forever!"

"This is why Kitty won't go out wit' ya." Rogue groaned, "Ya never take anything seriously. So Professor what do ya think?"

"I believe young Uzumaki has unwittingly provided us with the answers we've been looking for regarding his origins." Xavier said as he enjoyed a warm cup of tea in front the fireplace,

"Actually I'm not clear on all details." Bobby said holding up a hand in embarrassment

"Neither am I truth be told." Wanda added having only been told the barest details regarding Naruto.

"Naruto appears to hail from an insular village of ninja, he grew up around the supernatural which may explain why he's not frightened by our abilities. It would seem though that even prior to being abducted by Sinister he had been a victim of neglect and at the very least emotional abuse at the hands of the villagers. This treatment stems partly from being the vessel of a demonic creature that laid waste to the village and partly from the grief at the death of this Fourth Hokage."

"Remy gets the first part but not the second." Gambit admitted, Iceman seconded that,

"This man was clearly beloved by his people, so much so that even one such as Naruto who seems to have little regard for authority can't help but speak his name with reverence." Xavier sighed, "For all intents and purposes the demon's attack was akin to a natural disaster. A seemingly random event that inflicted horrific casualties, add to that the loss of their leader must have left the people of Konoha with an incomprehensible amount of grief and anger. The boy offered an outlet for that anger, I'm simply explaining their behavior not condoning it."

"Christ did they chase him with torches and pitchforks?" Bobby said lacking his usual humor, he knew Kurt had actually gone through that in Germany,

"As far as I can tell nothing like that occurred, they instead choose ignore him. Which was arguably even worse. Children not only crave but need attention and affection, I am honestly surprised nothing violent was done to the boy though."

"Gramps," Rogue said causing everyone to look at her strangely, "That's what Naruto calls the village leader, he must the new Fire Shadow. From the way the boy was going he's pretty close to the guy." Xavier nodded,

"He must have given Naruto some kind of protected status, I can only imagine laws in such a village are enforced at knife point."

"So they can't hurt the kid physically without signing their own death warrants so they resort to civil disobedience to emiserate a kid, nice." Wolverine mused in a morbid tone,

"Indeed, we also know that according to the demon Naruto's mother was the previous, on a side note that means we now know more then Naruto knows on the matter of his parentage," He said sadly and sighed "I'm wondering if there's some genetic trait that makes his family ideal vessels for the demon's power." He glanced Hank wondering if he had a theory. Beast glanced through notes before speaking

"I'm not entirely certain if it's relevant but upon closer analysis it would appear that the boy has an inhuman amount of life force energy. It may very well the source of his near limitless energy and stamina."

"Maybe a large amount of life force energy is needed to be a Jinchuriki," Several people gave Jean questioning looks, "It's term the demon used for host or vessel."

"Jinchuriki doesn't mean host or vessel," Logan interjected grimly as he took a few sips of beer, "It means human sacrifice, more or less." The temperature dropped a few degrees as Wolverine's words sank in,

"A sacrifice!" Rogue said in horror, Xavier held up a hand to calm her,

"Sacrifice may refer to the burden that such an individual would carry. According to the demon the boy's mother was the previous host, perhaps there's some genetic trait in their family that makes them ideal vessels for containing the demon's power." Xavier glanced at Beast sensing he had a theory on the subject,

"Well reviewing my data it would appear the boy posses inhumanly potent reserves of life force energy. I believe it's the source of his near boundless energy and endurance, though when it comes to the supernatural I somewhat useless." McCoy admitted,

"I've heard of using magic to seal demons away in artifacts or in other dimensions but never a living thing." Wanda said in disgust, "Such seals have to be maintained or the magics wane and you run the risk of the demon escaping. I'm guessing they'd have to perform a ritual of sorts to keep it functioning though in the absence of memory modification how the boy wouldn't be aware of it escapes me." The Scarlet Witch crossed her arms and began pacing lost in thought. A moment later a look of horror crossed her's and McCoy's face at the same time. The only sign of distress Xavier showed was his brow creased.

"Wanda is it possible?" The professor asked her,

"It's not a branch of magic I've devoted a lot of time to, Stephen or Agatha would know more then me."

"I know it's a lot to ask but since neither of those two are the easiest to reach could you stay the night and perhaps tomorrow examine the boy?"

"Of course Professor," Wanda answered "I'll need to make a few phone calls and I'll need someone to go to my place and pick up Kitty and Talia." Xavier nodded,

"What's goin' on professor?" Rogue asked not liking the looks on their faces, "Ya'll were talking about some kind of ritual, is that what ya'll are going to do tomorrow?" Beast grimaced,

"If our theory is correct such a ritual isn't needed. The seal may simply use the boy's own considerable life energy to maintain it's self."

"Wouldn't it eventually ki-"

"Wait a minute," Jean said when she remembered what the fox had told her about the seal, "The seal drains the fox's power and gives it to Naruto."

"Perhaps it all balances it?" Beast suggested hopefully, "We'll find out tomorrow, any questions?"

"How are we going to explain this to Naruto?" Bobby asked,

"He's to young," Wanda said quickly, "This could really damage him."

"I have to agree with Mrs. Wagner." Xavier said, "Will explain try things to him when he's older. For now will make sure the seal is functioning properly and observe the situation."

"Didn't you try that with the Phoenix and well...didn't it literally blow up in our faces." Bobby noticed the murderous look Scott was giving him, "Not trying to be an ass just pointing it out." Iceman said apolitically, "Now we don't have all the facts but it looks like the assholes in Naruto's home town treated him like dirt and didn't even have the stones to tell him why. He deserves to know."

"Mehby yer right but he's been through so much. Ya weren't there when Ah found him in Sinister's lab." Rogue's eyes watered, "Ah'd never thought anyone much less a child could look so...broken. Yet despite everythin' he went through he's so kind and so full of life. Ah don't want to see that destroyed," Rogue let out a heartfelt sigh, "But I can't stomach the ideal of lyin' Naruto either, ah don't know." She couldn't help but think of all Mystique's lies, secrets, and manipulations. These days she often wondered if her foster mother ever really cared for her at all.

"The kids tougher then he looks, I say we tell him. Pride would say the same thing if she were here." Drake nodded in agreement with Logan's statement.

"Maybe it would be best to decide tomorrow after we have more information." Xavier suggested and then looked at Rogue "Would you mind staying for a few moments? Jean and I would like to speak with you." Everyone took the hint and left,

"What's this about Proffessah?"

"I believe Naruto has some potentially profound issues stemming from his upbringing. I fear though his encounter with Sinister has exasperated these problems. Getting him to open up is important, something he seems to be able to do better around you." Emerald eyes widened,

"Why me?"

"You saved him." Jean said simply, "In what was probably the darkest hour of his already difficult life you showed him unconditional kindness, possibly one of the few, if not the only time he ever experienced such a thing. The professor and myself can help him professionally, but he looks up to you, your approval means the world to him. You could be a very positive influence in his life Rogue. Even something as small as coming to his counseling session could help him immensely." Jean then smiled warmly her professional side gone, "You're already quite fond of him." Rogue gave the redhead a sad smile,

"He's such a sweetheart, how...how could anyone not like him. One thang's for sure he ain't goin back to Konoha, Ah don't care if they send ninjas ridin in on Godzilla."

"Of course not," Xavier said, "Sending him back to such an abusive environment would be the worst thing for him."

**...**

**Konohagakure, Japan, present... **

Uchiha Itachi was knelt before the Hokage garbed in full ANBU uniform. A cold wind blew across the roof of the Hokage's Tower as if the weather was reflection of Sarutobi's mood, "Do you understand your mission?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama, I am to hunt down and if necessary eliminate the genetic terrorist group know as the Marauders, their leader "Sinister" in particular. I am also to extract from him regarding how he learned of our village by what ever means." His tone was devoid of any emotion,

"Correct, SHIELD has pledged there full support and you have been provided with a list of contacts who can help you."

"That was very generous of them." Itachi said with a touch of dry humor; the Third made a sarcastic noise,

"Since they've been unable to effectively deal the various "post human" problems that cropped up over the past decade they've been trying to curry favor with the five major Shinobi Villages." The Hokage explained,

"Is it true that they must rely upon vigilantes to maintain order in the United States?" Itachi asked in the same tone one might use to discuss bowel problems.

"That's what I've been told, though the group known as the Avengers does operate under SHIELD and cooperates with other law enforcement groups when possible." Itachi's expression gave away nothing that might be going through his mind at the moment.

"It would be an excellent source of extra income for us Hokage-sama. Plus stabilizing the west would be a good way of preventing the chaos from spreading to our own backyard."

"Perhaps," The Hokage said, "Minato believed the world was heading towards a genetic war, from what little I know I think he was right. I suspect he would've taken SHIELD up their offer to prevent it from happening." The old man sighed and took a puff of his pipe, "Itachi on a personal note if you find any information on Naruto, no matter how grim please tell me." SHIELD was analyzing the data from Sinister's lab at moment as were his own top people. It couldn't to have someone else keeping an eye on things.

"Understood Hokage-sama."

**Author's Notes: ****Sorry about the long wait folks I hope this makes up for it. The X-Men aspect of this is a blend of stuff from the comics and the various TV shows tailored to be a little more compatible with Naruto. Tommy and Billy are the Scarlet Witch's children from **_**Young Avengers, **_**known as Speed and Wicca respectively.****If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask and please let me what I'm doing right and how I can improve. **


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